


Shuffle the Cards

by lanalucy



Series: Academy Frakbuddies [7]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Break Up, Crying, F/M, Frak Buddies, Miscommunication, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-28
Updated: 2013-05-28
Packaged: 2017-12-13 05:42:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/820659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanalucy/pseuds/lanalucy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kara and Karl are not on the same page.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shuffle the Cards

She’d been raucously drunk when he’d seen her at the party last night, so even though they were scheduled to go running, Helo figured he’d pick Kara up at her room rather than meet her at the track.  When she didn’t answer his knock, he used his key to let himself in.

He walked across the room, ready to tease her awake, only to find Kara nude, and a sleeping guy who had to be a first-year sprawled all over her.  What he could see of her arms were covered in bruises.

He didn’t want to fight with Kara while he was angry (and he was definitely angry), and he did not want an eyeful of whoever that naked guy was, so he put his key on her desk and walked out, closing and locking the door behind him.  Then he set about being anywhere but where Kara Thrace might normally find him, for as long as he could manage.

Kara woke up not long after Helo left, kicked out the kid she didn’t remember meeting, much less frakking, and hurried to meet Helo at the track.  When he never showed, she went looking for him, but couldn’t find him anywhere all weekend.

By the time Monday rolled around and they were due in class, Kara was worried about him, though she would deny it categorically.  She saw him in the classes they shared, but instead of sitting next to her like he always had, he was usually across the room, and when she tried to talk to him in the hall, he made a point of avoiding her.  She was puzzled, but shrugged it off with a mental, _well, at least I know he’s okay_.

It wasn’t until Monday evening when she was back in her room sitting down to study that she noticed the key on her desk and knew it was Helo’s; no one else had one.  What she couldn’t figure out was when he’d been here and why he’d left it.  They were best friends.  Best friends who frakked a lot, yeah, but best friends, even if he thought he was in love with her.  So why would he return the key without talking to her?  Why would he return it at all?  Again she put off doing anything about it - _test tomorrow, too late to hunt him down tonight, anyway_.

After another week of Helo avoiding her and ignoring her and not showing up for study groups or their usual runs, she wasn’t just puzzled, she was livid, though she had to admit to a measure of relief.   _Where the frak did he get off ditching her with no explanation?  What was his problem?  And godsdamn it, he's my sparring partner, not to mention my favorite fradbuddy!  OK, so he’s my only frakbuddy.  At the moment._

It took another week for her to corner Helo and get him to talk, and then things were worse than ever, because she'd gotten exactly what she wanted.  He wasn't in love with her anymore.

_He seriously thought I was his girlfriend?   What the frak, Helo?  Godsdammit.  This love crap sucks._

~*~

For someone who knew Kara as well as Helo did, it was obvious that underneath her cocky, larger-than-life facade, she was hurting.  He noticed, and for a couple of weeks, he was still mad enough to be happy about her pain.  But Karl loved Kara and even if she didn’t want to be his girlfriend (she’d made that VERY clear when she finally cornered him and made him talk), he couldn’t stand to watch her take her anger with him out on herself.  He just didn’t know how to fix it.  

For four or five weeks, nobody besides Helo noticed that when Starbuck showed at the pool hall or a party or anywhere but class, she was already drunk and got drunker.  She started fights and spent more time than usual in the brig for drunk and disorderly.  She piled up demerits in her Academy file.

He finally let go of his pride and knocked on her door on a Thursday night, hoping she’d be home.  When she answered the door, she looked like she’d been crying, and was a lot worse for the wear of the last couple of months, but he knew better than to mention it.  He pulled her into a tight hug and said, “I hate this.  I miss you.  Can we just be friends again already?  Please?”

Then she really did cry, but pretended not to, and answered, “Gods, I missed you.”


End file.
